Top 10 Foods to Buy Organic

— May 13, 2015

The grocery store is a sea of ambiguity defined by confusing measurement conversions, questionable discounts, and dubious promises. One carton of milk can be covered in so many stamps, certifications, and advertisements that it’s a wonder we manage to make purchases at all.

If the battlefield of the produce aisle has your head spinning, use this list. It will help you make educated decisions about your purchases without requiring you break the bank to make each purchase organic.

1. Strawberries

This sweet superfood is drenched in up to 13 pesticides according to the EWG (Environmental Working Group). Thanks to those little seeds nestled into their surface which is larger than the surface of many fruits, pesticides can be hard to wash away with Strawberries. When you buy organic the number of synthetic pesticides you consume drops to zero. That’s a healthy number.

2. Popcorn

Don’t let this ruin movie night, but the linings of those convenient, buttery smelling microwave popcorn bags contain a toxic chemical known as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, to be precise), which is helpful in keeping the popped kernels from sticking to the inside of the bag when you’d rather have them in your mouth, but which is also a carcinogen. That’s right, cancer causing. Organic popcorn (even better, the kind you make on the stove) doesn’t contain those toxins.

3. Milk

Up to 70 percent of the estrogens humans consume from outside sources comes from dairy products. That’s because milk inherits the hormones of the dairy cows, 17 percent of which ar treated with rBST, a hormone that stimulates milk production. The truth is, rBGH has been linked to breast cancer, and its use has been banned in Canada and Europe.

4. Celery

The EWG concluded, after performing almost 90 thousand produce and pesticide tests, that celery contained more contaminants than most fruits and vegetables. Because celery is porus, its stalks retain more pesticides than most vegetables. Unfortunately, spinach, potatoes, and bell peppers also had high pesticide counts.

5. Eggs

Just like milk, eggs can retain any hormones consumed by the adult animals which bred them. Moreover, eggs labeled organic by the USDA come exclusively from eggs that have been given outdoor access all year. Like humans, hens need exercise and a variable diet in order to lay the best eggs.

6. Meat

Eating beef, chicken, and pork that have only consumed an organic diet, can make a big difference how healthy they are for us. Of all produce, the strictest regulations against hormones are leveled against cattle. Unfortunately, not all farmers adhere to regulations strictly. Studies regularly discover hormone residue in the beef cattle they test. Organic beef cuts out these hormones as well as antibiotics, which are known to have a detrimental impact on individuals.